The game of paintball is one in which two or more teams try to capture each other's flags and the players on each team are armed with compressed gas powered markers that shoot paintballs in the form of gelatin or plastic spherical balls or capsules that contain biodegradable colored liquids. During the game when a player is hit with a paintball from an adversary's gun, the paintball ruptures and leaves a colored mark on the hit player who then must retire from the game. This action means that protective face masks are mandatory, and a reservoir hopper for paintball rounds that are fed automatically into the marker, usually by gravity or motor-assisted power feed, are highly recommended for all players.
The action of a paintball game can span a range from strategic scenario games (often played in wooded areas over 20-60 minutes) to fast-paced tournament games in which the game can be over in 1-3 minutes. For many, it would be desirable to capture and re-live the excitement of the game or replay the footage to study tactics and techniques for the next tournament. The mask, however, prevents the use of conventional handheld cameras or video equipment
It would be desirable to have an image capturing system that could be used by a paintball player during a game.
It would also be desirable to have an image capturing system that would capture still or video imagery from the player's perspective in a manner that was automatic and operable while wearing a protective face mask.
It would further be useful to have an image capturing system that would transmit the captured images via a secured wireless connection to teammates on or off the playing field, to a central command center or to an announcer's booth for re-broadcast to conventional or internet-based programming.